Reluctancy
by First Commander Miari
Summary: Miari just wanted to live her life without remembrance of her past....but the AMP believes that she will make a very valuable member. So, now she is caught as a person working for both sides, without knowledge of either's plans for her.
1. A Reluctant Luciferhawk

Miari Animita, a woman aged twenty-one, milky blonde hair and shining blue eyes. A cool disposition, and a likable personality. Nobody could have guessed that she was a Lucifer Hawk. She was in her apartment one night, doing some work for her college. As a professor, she had to keep up with what she was teaching, and prepare lessons and such. Suddenly, the doorbell rang and she opened the door a sliver. Realizing that it was a stranger with dark brown hair and hard brown eyes, she opened the door just a crack more, but it swung open, blowing her back. "What was that for?" she asked with a tinge of anger. Slowly, she looked up and saw the stranger over her. "I want to talk, Miari....I want to talk business." Miari nodded and got up, dusting off her outfit. She was wearing a black, turtleneck tanktop and tight pants of the same color. "What kind of business?" She brushed her hip-length blonde hair back with a slender hand, regaining her cool disposition. *What if he's more than human?* she thought as the two of them sat down on her couch and she poured each of them some tea, since it was too late for coffee. "Alright then, I suppose I have time for you."  
  
The stranger smiled and said in a deep voice, "I thought you would. If not, I would have had to make some time for myself, but that might have been rude." Miari knew he was sophistocated enough not to do that, but who knew with people those days? "Can you just tell me what you want? It's late."  
  
"Yes. I want you to come to this address at 2:30 tomorrow." He handed her a business card, with only one line on it.  
  
"Alright," said Miari, "That's simple enough. I'll come."   
  
"Good. But there is one thing....will you promise to do whatever I ask?"   
  
"It depends," she said, "what kind of sick business you're running!" With that she punched him and left him on the street. She herself went to bed for the night.  
  
In the morning, Miari awoke and went to get herself some coffee. "Stupid police," she grumbled to herself. "Can't they just leave me alone, and stop saying that I have to obey them?" She looked over her coffee cup's rim and saw a girl standing in the door, her red hair tied back in a short ponytail with a ribbon, her eyes sparkling. "I'm sorry," said the girl. "You left your door open, and I really needed to see you. So I let myself in."  
  
"Who are you? Don't you know to keep your nose out of other people's houses?"  
  
"Well, we need you to come to our headquarters immediately. Please don't get angry with me." Miari sighed and put down her coffee cup. "Alright, I'll come with you. Just don't do anything to alter my form. You don't want to."  
  
"Yes ma'am." Miari looked at the girl and asked, "What's your name?"  
  
"Yuki Saiko. I work for the AMP."  
  
The two left in a small car, and both were silent, until they screeched to a halt in front of a tall building. "This," said Yuki, "is the AMP headquarters." The building just looked like an ordinary skyscraper, not some police building. Yuki punched in a security code at the door and gestured for Miari to follow as she walked in. -She doesn't know,- thought Miari. -She doesn't know that I'm a full-bred LuciferHawk. I shouldn't tell her, since she seems to be having a good day.- She didn't know that Yuki was almost always cheerful. They went up enough flights of stairs and reached a clean, metallic room that had a lot of machinery, but didn't seem cluttered because it was so large. "Who do you have?" asked a woman with blonde hair and blue eyes.   
  
"This is Miari, Lebia," replied Yuki. "She might be staying with us for a while. Maybe she'll even take Lum Cheng's place."  
  
"Yuki," said Lebia, "are you being nasty again?" Yuki smiled and led Miari over to a chair that Rally was sitting in. "Director," said Yuki. "This is the right one, correct?"  
  
"Yes," said Rally. "Miari. I'm Rally Cheyenne, director of the Attacked Mystification Police. I believe you've heard of us before." Miari kept a straight face and looked Rally in the eye.   
  
"I don't take well to your kind, but what do you want? It's still early and I have to get to work."   
  
Rally gave a short laugh and smiled. "I already know what you are, Miari. The question is, how come you try to hide your life as a LuciferHawk?"  
  
"I'm a LuciferHawk, yes, but I have different opinions than the others from Nemesis. I didn't believe in domination, only coexistance, so after a while, I became an example of my own heartfelt beliefs. The gates to Nemesis should have remained sealed. Yet Gigalph Liqeuere released this plague into the world, destroying the lives he meant to save. I was against Gigalph and all of the other LuciferHawks. If this was what we were meant to do on the other side, we should have simply remained in Nemesis. So, to avoid joining with my race again, I became disguised as a human." The director smiled and nodded with approval, as Miari turned away and tried to walk off.  
  
"Wait," called Rally. "We could use somebody like you on the AMP: somebody who knows the LuciferHawk inside and out. You qualify for that position without a doubt."  
  
"But when..."  
  
"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Miari nodded in acceptance and said, "When do I start?" 


	2. Her First Day

Miari looked at Rally with a slender eyebrow cocked. "Ms. Cheyenne?" she asked tentatively. Rally nodded and looked up at her nervously.   
  
"Miari, don't worry about the AMP. We're here to help you drive the luciferhawks back. You haven't changed your mind have you?"  
  
"Oh no, not at all," she replied, looking slightly taken aback. "In fact, I still don't quite agree with the mass slaughter of Luciferhawks. After all, yesterday I had a job that paid better than this. Why don't you have more members anyway? Wouldn't that help your cause more?" Rally shook her head and stood up.  
  
"Look, Miari. You don't need to get worried about the AMP. As I said, we're here for you. Now, you should get introduced." Miari nodded and sat down at an empty computer space. Typing in the access code that Lebia had given her, she saw several profiles of dangerous luciferhawks. Yet one caught her eye:  
  
Riessa, first commander of Luciferhawk army.  
  
Identification #:2463597  
  
Category:1  
  
D.R. Rating-89  
  
D.G Rating-95  
  
Several other images appeared as the profile minimized and went into the upper left corner of the screen. Miari's eyes were wide with shock. "Was there an error?" Lebia asked, coming over to look at the screen.  
  
"N-no. It's just....oh, forget it. It was just something trivial...."  
  
"Lebia. Lebia Mavelich. So you're the newcomer that the chief was talking about. Do you really know that much about the Luciferhawks?"  
  
"Well...I've forgotten some basic things, but I know almost all of their capabilities, and their group attack strategies. So obviously, I'm to be dragged into this war that's beginning."  
  
"Is there anything wrong with that? Didn't you once belong to the luciferhawks? Don't you feel any connection to them now?"  
  
"No, actually," she replied somewhat sharply. "My opinions differed greatly from those of the rest, so I would have been killed anyway if I hadn't left of my own accord." Miari hit a couple keys on her console and an entire profile of Riessa was right there before her:  
  
Riessa, category one Luciferhawk  
  
is known as a vicious killer who  
  
will do anything to stop the progress  
  
of the AMP. She has become one of the  
  
greatest threats to humanity, and must  
  
be harnessed, lest she aid her own kind  
  
in destroying humanity. All officers  
  
should be warned that she is ruthless  
  
and believes in non-ethical warfare...  
  
It went on for about four or five more lines giving information on the damage that this luciferhawk had caused. Suddenly, Miari began typing in several advanced computer codes and word by word, the profile was deleted.  
  
Every other officer that was there came to look at what Miari was doing, only to find an empty computer screen. Katsumi remained in her seat, however, and had been watching as every word was deleted from the database. When Lebia looked to Miari, hoping for an explanation as to why she had just deleted the data on a high-ranking Luciferhawk. She simply said in a cool voice, "Officer Riessa no longer exists, and thus is merely wasting space." Lebia looked taken aback. Her blue eyes were wide as Miari started making additions to the database, of new officers that nobody had heard of, or made contact with, and certain Luciferhawks that would make good captives.   
  
"How do you know of all these Luciferhawks?" asked Yuki, as she walked forward, looking very nervous.  
  
"Just because I'm not with the Luciferhawk anymore doesn't mean that I don't have my....sources." Yuki nodded in acceptance and watched her typing words onto the screen quickly, and very few of them making sense. It appeared that Miari was typing in a foreign language. Suddenly, the computer screen blinked off and miari got up, stretching her arms upward. "There, Ms. Cheyenne, that should be all of the new ones that you needed information for. I hope you can read the profiles. I put it in my language in case some hackers get to it. There are codes that I found out from a source that can only be typed in Luciferhawk script, and I've got something special for anyone, even an AMP member, that tries to hack into my data."  
  
Lebia looked more taken aback than anyone at Miari's knowledge of computers. "Then how are AMP members supposed to access these data files, Miari? We need access to them also."  
  
"It's simple," said Miari. "You don't." With that, Miari got up and looked over at Lum Cheng. "You," she said calmly. "You're going to help me with something."  
  
"Why should I? You seem to be handling things well enough."  
  
"You are going to help. Come here, you little brat." Lum got up and stood rigidly, looking like an iron rod. Slowly, she walked over until she was face to face with Miari, looking into those piercing, icy blue eyes.  
  
"What do you want help with?" asked Lum Cheng.  
  
"My new...program. It's intended for those who are insubordinate. I'm quite sure you'll enjoy being my test subject. After all, it's not that harsh. 


	3. Reverting to the Past

Miari led Lum Cheng down a dark, most likely unplotted corridor of the headquarters. With a smirk that could barely be seen, she turned to Lum Cheng. "This program was intended for insubordinate officers, in other words, those who don't know how to work as a team. Come here." Lum Cheng complied somewhat reluctantly and Miari put a blindfold on her. "And I don't believe you'll be allowed to use that elemental staff during this training session." Miari snatched the staff away with ease and the corridor became pitch black. Miari's image faded and then multiplied, illuminating only a small section of the corridor. Growling sounds came from the darkness. "Now," said Miari. "You are to defeat every single creature I have placed here using your bare hands."   
  
"WHAT?!" shrieked Lum Cheng. "WHERE ARE THEY?!"  
  
"You'll simply have to find them as soon as possible, so that they don't kill you." More growling sounds erupted, and then a howl. Miari disappeared altogether and invisible jaws clenched on Lum Cheng's shoulder. Yelping with pain, she whipped around and threw a fist. A howl erupted as she connected with a body. Something crashed on the floor, unconscious, and had stopped breathing. Lum looked down at it cautiously and something painfully luminous came out of the floor. "Stop!" shouted Miari as she appeared in front of Lum Cheng.  
  
A giant luciferhawk was slowly approaching, its long, serpentine tail hovering in the air. Its head was round and it had a slender, finely toned body. "Stop!" Miari shouted. "This is first commander Riessa, stop!" The luciferhawk looked at her venomously and charged. The entire corridor shook, threatening to collapse. Miari took Lum Cheng's arm and teleported with her to the main room. Lebia and Mana were going crazy trying to enable all of their defense systems at once. Lum Cheng was pointing at Miari, failing to utter a single word. Kiddy and Yuki were on standby for attack. Miari stood there calmly and looked out the window. She sensed so many luciferhawk that her mind was hurting. "There's one that should grace us with his presence in a few minutes, and about fifty of them are heading right for us. Are you all ready for that?" Kiddy's eyes were wider than ever as she stared at Miari, who was standing there calmly as if nothing was happening.  
  
"F-fifty of them?" asked Yuki in a frightened voice. "Are you sure about th-the numbers?" Katsumi looked over at Miari and shook her head in disbelief. "Miari, there can't be fifty of them! They had trouble scraping together ten to twelve decently intelligent ones! You're lying Miari, lying!"   
  
"I wish I were," said Miari sadly. "They've been planning this ever since our world connected with yours, ever since I left Nemesis." That was when that giant serpentine tail shot up and grabbed Miari in a fierce grip.  
  
"No!" shouted Nami. She threw spell tags at the luciferhawk, but it simply laughed and held up a screaming Miari in its tail. The spell tags attached to her and she felt a burning from the inside...her luciferhawk blood was boiling. Her skin burned and she felt a power rise within her. "Katsumi, Rally, leave NOW!" she shouted, feeling the spell tags seep into her skin with their burning fire. Tears ran down her face as she saw Katsumi and Rally simply standing there, Katsumi holding Grospelina firmly.  
  
"Miari," said Rally. "Hold on, I'll get you out of there."  
  
"No, it's alright. I can do this. Just leave, you two, before he can.." Her lungs were being crushed, but she had to concentrate. The luciferhawk squeezed her harder, and laughed, stopping when he noticed that there was no Miari on his grip. She peeled off the spell tags and stuck them on her opponent. She faded again and appeareed in midair.  
  
"I told you two, get out of here, this isn't your battle!" She muttered an incantation and looked at her opponent fiercely. It started to shrivel, and was soon dead. Miari touched solid ground again, and saw the other members with looks of utter shock on their faces.  
  
"What did you do?" demanded Kiddy,who had just come running in. Miari looked around and saw that what seemed like only a moderately powerful attack had destroyed several work stations, and obliterated Lebia's latest invention.  
  
"I simply rid the world of another luciferhawk. Is there anything wrong with what I have done, or are you just a little angry?" Her face was completely serene, as if she had been watering some flowers, or having a cup of coffee. Kiddy grabbed her by the shirt collar and screamed,  
  
"WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING TO THIS PLACE! EVER SINCE YOU WERE HIRED, EVERYTHING'S GONE WRONG! SO WHAT ARE YOU, SOME INSIDE AGENT FOR THE LUCIFERHAWK?!" With a snap of her fingers, Miari disappeared and reappeared by one of the many windows that had been shattered by her attack. She closed her eyes and shards of glass flew at Kiddy. Blood streaked down her arms, and Miari snapped her eyes open. Silently, a blood red, translucent orb formed around her.  
  
"Maybe if I can't find acceptance amongst humans, the only choice is to return to Nemesis," said Miari, lifting her arms and raising the orb higher and higher. "Remember, Kiddy. Your failure to accept powers beyond yours has been your downfall. Katsumi, Rally, if only we had some like you to straighten out the objectives of the luciferhawk. Farewell...AMP. Just remember that not all of us are unwilling to go against common opinions." Her icy blue eyes began to fade, like a dissipating mist. None of the other AMP members knew where she was heading to. Yuki's sobs rang through the room, and were the only unheard sound in the pale rosy sky that represented dusk. 


	4. Old Friends, New Enemies

A faint breeze stole across the roof of a skyscraper, where Miari stood, alone. Her black, strapless top was ruffled a little in the wind, and she was wearing tight black pants. "Miari," whispered a voice that was smooth, sophistocated, nearly soothing. Miari turned around slowly and saw Ganossa gazing at her icily. "Why not return," he said. "You were first commander Riessa, one of the supreme forces amongst the luciferhawk. We considered you someone to be wholly accepted." A fist stopped short of Ganossa's face as Miari glared at him fiercely.  
  
"You would have killed me and my entire squadron, had you had the chance. Don't give me your sweet talk Ganossa. It will only bring your prolonged death." Her eyes were focused completely on him, filled with hatred and anger. "Now feel the wrath," she hissed, "the wrath of Medium's true master!" Medium appeared in her hands, gleaming in the foreboding moonlight. Ganossa leapt aside to dodge and began muttering an incantation. Shimmers of light crossed his chest in an X, and the cloak tore, revealing crimson stains. Suddenly, just as Miari was about to strike again, she heard a voice.   
  
"Miari, is this really necessary?" shouted Rally, running through a door and onto the roof. "Don't let him channel your emotions!" With a glare at Ganossa, Miari turned on Rally, fingering the handle of a double-bladed sword...Medium.   
  
"He doesn't channel my emotions Rally. It's impossible." Suddenly, what felt like a blade made of ice and fire struck at Miari. Her shirt was darkened from soaking up blood as she drew Medium and turned back to where Ganossa had been. "He's gone! My only chance to destroy him and he escapes yet again." Rally gazed at her without any sign of fear, concern, or any emotion for that matter.   
  
"He wouldn't have let you get close," said the Director bluntly. "His skill in utilizing your emotions that have been adopted into your human part far surpasses yours. Return to the AMP. There you will find that you are perfectly welcome. He knows that it is far more difficult to defeat three capable luciferhawk." Miari clutched Rally's throat, pressing the other woman against a wall.   
  
"Look. Luciferhawk don't work with humans. If you wanted to get a flat-out no, you could have just asked me whether or not I wanted to join the AMP. Then I could have lived my normal life. Oh no. That luciferhawk at hq was after the AMP, it had no intention of even coming near me ever again, unless on strict orders. Being close to the key to Nemesis is a position that many luciferhawk would greatly envy, and thus it would only give Ganossa a better reason to take out his revenge that I owe him. Humiliating a luciferhawk like Ganossa was no small matter, although it should have been. He swore revenge for everything I'd done. For all of his followers that I'd killed singlehandedly. For every blow that I'd dealt him." Rally looked at her levelly and then gave an understanding nod.  
  
"You see, Miari, every member of the AMP had reasons for joining. Kiddy wanted to get revenge on Wire, a Megadyne that nearly killed her, and made her adopt a mechanical body. Yuki was taken in at a young age after running away from a laboratory that was doing illegal human experiments. Katsumi wants to make sure that Nemesis does not obtain their key. All of us had problems before we joined the AMP, but together we overcome them, Miari. You may not understand, Miari, having been a luciferhawk for most of your life, but a certain bond of knowing that every other person in the same room as you has shared your pain holds us together."  
  
Miari's eyes were half-closed as she looked up at the moon, and saw a red tint to it. "There's home," she said halfheartedly. "That was the work of the supposed hero, Gigalph Liqeuere, the man who joined Gaia and Nemesis. The horrid destroyer that brought mankind to be an object of the blood-thirsty ways of the luciferhawk. Never did he give a thought to the fact that his project could affect the whole world in a great and terrible way. I hate him for what he did. Things like you and Katsumi could just have grown up as regular bred human children, not human children that knew they had a demonic beast within them. My own kind has soiled the bloodline of humanity." Rally's smile was reassuring as she put a hand on Miari's bare shoulder.  
  
"You," said Rally, "are the most pure luciferhawk I have ever met. It's a wonder you weren't killed already. How did you survive?" Miari shook her head and turned away silently. Her footsteps clicked as she walked toward the other edge of the building. Leaning forward, her heart raced, anticipating and fearing what she was going to do. Rally ran to her, and held her back roughly. "You're stronger than this," she said in a strained voice. "You're only doing something that would be wasting a life that can possibly be changed. Think about what you're going to do." Miari winced as the other woman's grip tightened on her shoulder. Tears streamed down her face as she collapsed forward and fell, plummeting over fifty feet, fearing the moment when her pain would be over...when she could stop living her life half bound to the AMP, and half-bound to the enemy, the luciferhawk. Yet her bloodline was truly that of a luciferhawk. She saw no other way.....  
  
"NO! I'VE BEEN LIVING A LIE!" sahe screamed, "Somebody, please remember me..."   
  
Firm hands clasped her tightly as she looked up to see those cold eyes, the eyes of a luciferhawk. "Ganossa," she hissed. "You get your filthy hands off of me!" His smile wasn't mocking at all, no, it showed admiration.   
  
"I won't let you fall, Riessa," he said gently. "You and I have business, remember? Perhaps you'd like to show me the way into the private quarters of miss Rally Cheyenne, or, more importantly, those of Katsumi Liqeuere." Miari threw her fist and smashed it into Ganossa's left cheek. He just held her, laughing softly, as if he was holding a lover.  
  
"I thought you understood that I no longer am your plaything. Leave me, or should the whole city witness the destruction of Ganossa Maximillian? I am sure that you would enjoy that, my old friend. Simply say the word and we can begin our fun..." 


	5. Revelations

Tokyo was entirely quiet as people saw a cloud of muddled colors approach. There was some red, some turquoise, and some white. It was as if the cloud of colors represented a luciferhawk's heart. It was riddled with corruption,and deceit crept silently through, leaving all the purity to rot away, as the white cleanliness slowly dissipated. Riessa, the First Commander of Squadron 1802547, watched without making a sound. Her human appearance fooled nobody. Light blonde hair went down to her shoulders, and icy blue eyes pierced the darkness of the night. Rain began to fall, but she stood there silently, hardly moving despite the fact that she was wearing a tanktop. "They are blinded," she said to herself. "After this, they will be sealed in the gate once more. Gigalph will not live through such a strain. Already his body is like that of an old man, tired and slow. With the strain of sealing the gate, his death will be assured." She looked around at the rain covered sky, and then it seemed to stop, along with time, as she leaped onto the roof of the next building over, then sat huddled into a ball, hoping to keep herself from becoming ill.  
  
"My my," said a smooth, slightly low voice. "Are you already this weak, First Commander Riessa? I never thought that you would break so easily from this punishment. Nobody thought that you would ever reduce yourself to this. Do you want me to help you get over your own fears? Are you too weak to handle your own self? How, then, were you ever able to command an entire squadron? Everybody called you a legend. Will you just give that title up...to me? Perhaps you would like to simply die now." Riessa stood up and then drew a longsword with a handle that looked as if it had been twisted and contorted until it could have had nothing else done to it. The blade had a line of blackened blood that ran down the side. Suddenly, the entire blade glittered in the pale moonlight, and that blood had spread to cover every inch of the sword. The sword itself seemed to crackle with black lightning as Riessa raised it and turned to the man who had spoken to her. "I am no longer your puppet, Ganossa," she said angrily, holding the sword in front of herself as if it could guard her against any attack. "Those were sad days when I was still fighting by your side, and nothing else mattered to me, but why use my hopelessness to gain what you wished for? Did you think of my friendship as being guileful?" Miari's voice was strained as she tried to hold back tears. They came, and she felt helpless as she was therein a tired heap, looking up at Ganossa. "You did not make a contract with the devil," she hissed. "You are the devil." With that, she went to sleep, not knowing whether or not she would wake up.  
  
~~  
  
Rally sat at her desk quietly, trying to ignore Kiddy's shouting. It hurt to lose such a valuable member, and it hurt to lose such a pure luciferhawk. "YOU CAN'T JUST LET HER GO!" Kiddy finished in a rage, her arms spread-eagled. "That will be all," said the director, looking at her enraged employee with icy coolness. "If you're so worried about Miari, go look for her. All of us except Lebia wish that she hadn't left us, but we can't fix death, now can we?" Kiddy stood there, dumbfounded, as the reality of the situation occured to her. Miari was dead, and would be forever. A giver of life had had her own taken.   
  
"But chief...." The ex-detective couldn't think of a thing to say as she looked at Rally with pure shock painted on her face. "Miari won't give up so easily! She'll-she'll be back, and I know it!"   
  
Defiance was blunt in Kiddy's voice, but her words were halfhearted, and she knew that Miari most likely wouldn't come back, and would instead leave to be in a more perfect place, without thoughts of her former life. Maybe Miari would be happier where she was going...  
  
Yet Rally sat there, staring back with what Kiddy finally realized as a subtle defiance. -Is she really that scared to hide the fact that she knows Miari won't be coming back?- Kiddy wondered to herself. -Perhaps that's just because it's her responsibility to look after all of us, and that includes Miari.- With a heavy sigh, Kiddy walked back into the main work space and sat down at her station. "Lebia seems a little unnerved," she said to herself, looking at the other woman. She sat there with her chin resting on her left hand, and her eyes were half-closed.  
  
"You alright , Lebia?" Kiddy asked without concern. Ever since Miari had joined the AMP, Lebia had been getting the sleep that she needed desperately.   
  
"I'm fine," Lebia replied dully, looking up from what she had been typing. Papers were strewn all over her station, which was a rarity, considering that Nami was at the headquarters most hours. Several important projects had been done with less finesse than before, due to the fact that Lebia was now half asleep most of the time. "It was nice to have Miari here to help out, but she was nothing special." Every word had sounded halfhearted as she continued typing away at her computer, trying to cram in her latest new invention before nightfall. "Just stop worrying about her. If you're worried, take a walk and think if you have to. Lum Cheng will be able to take over."  
  
Unfortunately, that wasn't true at all. Lum Cheng sat at her desk with a look of depression on her face, staring at the hole in the floor. "I'll still be here anyway," she said in an exasperated voice. "Don't worry about it, Kiddy." In the corner, Nami sat on a bench, looking down at the floor. Yuki had a day off, and was running her coffee shop. Nobody had wanted to tell her...  
  
~~  
  
There was nothing where Miari was; it was simply a white room where Ganossa was standing over her, his face utterly serious. "I see you lived, First Commander Riessa," he said softly. "Perhaps you could thank me, if you wanted to. The Lord of Nemesis, he has released my soul, imprisoned for so long by my blind lust for power! Remember all those times when we were together? It wasn't false. I really am a human, infused with the demonic powers of a luciferhawk. My heart was gone..enshrouded in the demonic powers that had brought about my horrible lust for power. We really spent all that time together, but it wasn't my real self. I had cheated myself out of a life with a happy wife and children! I manipulated you, and tried to use you as a vessel, but you were one of the few luciferhawk that are born pure as those of Heaven. You were born to be an individual who would help to dig Gaia out of the tumult that surrounds it now, ready to pounce in the form of your own luciferhawk army." 


	6. From Crimson to Blue

Miari's eyes were wide with shock as Ganossa's words rang constantly in her mind. "Are you sure?" she asked frantically. "They still fear me, the great Riessa, but if they saw me now, like this, they would be able to have me dead in seconds. Please Ganossa. I will repay you after this last stand, if I live. Yet will you aid me? Can you help me formulate a plan to destroy what was our own race?" Ganossa smiled and stroked her hair, as if he was Miari's father.   
  
"Yes, it's true, and yes, I will help you. Just rest for now. Even if your spirit recovered quickly, your body is still not at its full. Will you truly try and revert, losing all that you have become, losing your diverse purity?" She shook her head and sat there quietly, staring into the white wall. Ganossa was a changed man, no doubt about that, but was he truly ready to express his true love for her? Would his valiant efforts be drowned in cold blood as he died a slow and torturous death? Most likely yes, but he seemed ready to take risks, and Miari knew that it was time to take action; it was time to subvert the rule of the luciferhawk, and restore peace to a world ruled by fear. They were going to come up with a great plan that would be capable of destroying every single luciferhawk.  
  
"Don't worry about me, Riessa," said Ganossa almost silently. "All of those times, I was with you because I loved you, not because I wanted your power." He couldn't imagine it ending any other way, and his mind was wrought with fear of what could happen to Miari. "Don't simply leave me to worry about you here. Come back safe, Riessa. Come back safe to find me dead." After stroking her hair one last time, he flickered away with Miari, and they were in her apartment, in bed together...  
  
~~  
  
Rally stood alone at the edge of Tokyo, where it seemed like the luciferhawk were an approaching cloud of locusts, emitting as low buzzing sound as they drew nearer to her. Nobody else had been willing to come, despite arguments that Rally was unnecessarily putting herself in danger. Everything....the luciferhawk war that had been raging silently for five years now...was going to stop. Upon this day, when the sun shone bright, for once conquering the red orb in the sky that represented Nemesis, the attacking luciferhawk were going to fall in a blaze of glory. "There's been too much suffering and pain," she told herself. "Everybody has suffered because of one man, and I will atone for him! Arech, Gabrielle, Irinia, Orion, four stars of purity, shine with the blazing light that will demolish all evil!" Rays of white light spread from her body, and Rally Cheyenne's cries of pure agony rang through the streets, alerting all to what was happening.  
  
At headquarters, Yuki sprang to her feet, a look of horror painted upon her face. "No! She can't be...." The other AMP members looked over at her with extreme gravity in their eyes. Even Lum Cheng looked down at her feet, and a silent tear streaked down her cheek. Kiddy nodded and looked out the window. -I knew the director would die if she did this,- she thought. -Damn her!- Nami cried for the first time in a while, feeling her heart drown in the loss of both Miari and Rally. It seemed that the both of them had been close to everybody there. Even though Miari had only been there for a short amount of time, she was still a valued team mate, and a person that none of them wanted to have lost. In her mind, Yuki hoped that Miari was at least okay, even if she was missing...  
  
~~  
  
Miari awakened and saw Ganossa. His appearance was still young, despite the fact that he had broken his contract with Nemesis. When his eyes opened also, Miari felt a smile spread across her face. "You don't need to try and take care of me all the time," she said softly, cupping his face in her hands. "You seemed so much older than me when we first met, but now I suppose you seem like a man who is near my own age. You will help me, won't you?" A smile flickered across his face, if a weary one, and then he wrapped his arm around her waist.  
  
"Riessa," he said calmly, "say the word and I will follow you wherever you wish to go, and help you whenever you need it. Have you thought of something, yet?"  
  
"Actually, yes," said Miari, "but I will die because of it if I transform, as I may have to. Don't come after me if I look pained, or you will catch it too." From under the bed she produced a canister with a thick black smoke hovering inside of it. "This is a virus constructed to quickly kill any body with a certain number of luciferhawk cells. People like you and I will remain unaffected, while every other luciferhawk within a fifty mile radius will be killed. There are three other canisters. You take two and open them in the northern and eastern districts of Tokyo. I'll take the other two. Now, we have to go. Let's just make this effort a good one."  
  
~~  
  
At the edge of Tokyo, a huge cluster of luciferhawk fought to break the barrier, but one stepped forward and it was shattered. Rally fell and blood spilled from her chest, where her heart was. As the weak barrier dissipated, luciferhawk trampled the wide-eyed corpse of Rally Cheyenne. Some bothered to look down, but most advanced with utmost speed and agility, dodging the buildings that were in their way. Nothing was thought of the things or people that were destroyed that day as luciferhawk crushed the already downtrodden people of Tokyo. Nobody knew what to do in order to defend themselves from the demons that invaded their homes. Several men and women looked out at the scene of chaos and destruction that had blossomed before them, and screamed out curses through their tears, attempting to drive away the evil that was literally trampling their town.  
  
"Where lies the key?" one of the luciferhawk demanded. "Where lies Katsumi Liqeuere?" Nobody replied in fear for the luciferhawk as they cowered pitifully. Tears flooded from the face of every child in the city, and then the second wave came, this time by air. They flew through the sky, mercilessly killing any who showed signs of defiance. Shrieks, blood, and fire rose on the air. People couldn't leave the city if they tried. It was completely surrounded by luciferhawk. As Katsumi looked out the window, and saw the fire in the sky, a tear fell down her face.  
  
"They are doing this to draw me out," said Katsumi with tears in her eyes, "They are going to destroy humanity if we don't stop them." Lebia sat typing furiously at her computer, and downloading new files. Desperation was painted on the woman's face as she banged her fists on the console and began to cry with her head in her hand. Lum Cheng had already blown a hole through one of the windows with her rapidly increasing rage at the lkuciferhawk. "What are we waiting for then?" she demanded angrily, smashing her staff against the floor. "We can't just let them die!" Katsumi nodded and then looked down at the ground, noticing the immense numbers in which the luciferhawk now poured into the city. The evaporated blood that hung in the air like a crimson fog only made things seem so mucjh more hopeless. Yet Katsumi ran downstairs and then out into the streets, ready to sacrafice her life to rid the world of the luciferhawk.  
  
Miari suddenly appeared before her, holding under her arm two canisters with thick black smoke inside of them. "I just wanted to say goodbye," she said softly, "to the AMP. Once this canister is opened, every being with luciferhawk blood will die. The crimson fog that hangs over this land will dissipate, and when the skies are cleansed, humanity shall be too." A grim look appeared on her face as she took the top off of the first canister, and then flickered away. Katsumi felt a burning pain in her body, eating away mercilessly at the part of her that was a luciferhawk. "You undid what should never have happened," she said as her life faded slowly. "And only you had the heart to do it. Despite your ties, you were a good woman Miari, and the one who was going to save us us all..." With that, Katsumi Liqeuere closed her eyes....for eternity.  
  
~~  
  
Miari looked up through the crimson skies, and saw the sun for the last time, knowing it would all be over soon. "They never knew," she said, "but it doesn't matter. They never needed to. Yuki...Nami...Lum Cheng.....Lebia....Kiddy...take this as atonement for the sins of my race. Simply accept my death as an opportunity at a fresh start." The canister lid was torn off by the last burst of power that First Commander Riessa would ever give off. Her breathing slowed as she lay back on the ground, feeling the cold cement, cold as her heart had once been. She had lived a full enough life, and it was time to come back and face the demise that had been dealt her. Ganossa's figure appeared in the center of her blurred vision. He was reaching out desperately, telling her not to go. "You saved me," he said in an agonized voice. "Instead of trying to save yourself, you leave me here alone, without you. How did you expect me not to die by your side. Fight it, Riessa, don't let it take you without cause."   
  
Her thoughts swirled, trying in vain to regather themselves. Images became blurred even more than they had been before. "I won't she said softly. "Be strong Ganossa, and carry us on as protectors. If we die out, it's your fault, your own flaw, Ganossa Maximillian. I'll see you.....eventually." Voices and footsteps rang clear through her mind as she lay there, eyes closed because of her blurred vision. Lebia's voice said something indeterminable as Miari felt her lungs start to clear up. Something was counteracting the effects of the virus that had taken her over. "I won't," she said, falling asleep slowly...  
  
~~  
  
Lebia awakened and saw Miari sitting up in her hospital bed, perfectly healthy. It seemed as if the effects of the virus had worn off. "You're going to make a full recovery," she muttered under her breath, lowering her head, "and by the way, Miari, the other members have been bringing you gifts the entire week. Lum Cheng even had the heart to wish you a full recovery." Miari sat up and looked around in a confused way. Her eyes looked duller than they had before, but her face was brighter, with more color. "I thought I was dead," she said quietly, rubbing the back of her head. "You found a very quick way to get rid of the virus, Lebia. That was a great feat, beyond anything that I could have done. Please accept my apologies for every time that I seemed condescending. It was my pride." She looked down sullenly and then got up, slipping her old clothes on over the hospital robe, and then slipping the robe off.   
  
"I'll see you back at headquarters," Miari said flatly. "Hopefully, there's no more need for Police 00 AMP. If so, the world as we know it is a far better place than it ever has been since the silent crisis. Who knows? Maybe people will let me live my life like I used to, and let me redeem myself." She walked out of the hospital without another word, but when she got outside, she looked up to the sun, and ran all the way back to headquarters. Hopefully, if there was no longer a need for 00 AMP, then every luciferhawk was dead, and the world truly was safer than ever before. 


End file.
